Alfred Dunhill – Montgolfier County Limited Edition 5/40 Pipe (DUN537)

On 19 September 1783, the Aérostat Réveillon was launched from the royal palace in Versailles in front of King Louis XVI of France, Queen Marie Antoinette and the royal court. To test the effect of the higher atmospheres on living creatures, the balloon carried the first living passengers: a sheep named Mont-au-ciel (“Climb-to-the-sky”), a duck, and a rooster. The flight lasted approximately eight minutes, covered 2 miles, and obtained an altitude of about 460m after which it safely landed. As the animals had survived this flight unscathed, the king authorised flights with humans. For this purpose, Jacques-Étienne built a 60,000 cubic foot balloon, about 70 feet tall and 46 feet in diameter. The paper used was adorned with rich decorations of gold figures on a blue background, including fleur-de-lis and the 12 zodiac signs in the upper section, suns with Louis XVI’s face in the centre interlaced with the royal monogram in the central section and red & blue drapery and golden eagles at the…